Ingber: Manufacturing has been done by students and fellows in the lab, but we have just started to outsource that process to increase the robustness of the cell culture and quality system. Our first 50 lung-on-a-chip modules made by a commercial manufacturer should be delivered in October.

Also very exciting to hear about other creative and unexpected applications they’re exploring, such as microfluidics for window insulation:

MICRO: What do you see as the key breakthroughs in microfluidics at the Wyss Institute in coming years?

Ingber: We see more cross development of microfluidics for far-ranging applications in both medical and non-medical areas. For example, another group at Wyss is working on increasing window insulation efficiency. We noted that penguins can stay warm at the South Pole using microcapillary flow to warm their skin, so we are working with the insulation group on using microfluidic microcapillary flow inside windows to increase insulation efficiency. It’s a totally out-there concept, but because Wyss research is so broad, we constantly find synergies across platforms.